Wedge.



No. 759,868. PA'TENTED MAY 17, 1904.

; A. A. HIGH.

DGE.

APPLIOATI LED JAN. 26. 1904. N0 MODEL.

Patented May 17, 1904.

ALBERT A. EICH, OF NEW MUNICH, MINNESOTA.

WEDGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 759,868, dated May 17,1904. Application filed January 26, 1904. Serial No. 190,660. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. EIcH, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Munich, in the county of Stearns and State of Minnesota,have invented a new and useful Wedge, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to wedges, and more particularly to that class ofwedges designed for use by lumbermen and others for felling andsplitting timber.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, anddurable device of this character capable of being readily driven infrozen or other timber without the liability of the wedge being forciblyejected therefrom when struck with an ax or other tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wedge having its sidefaces grooved or recessed, defining oppositely-disposed retaining-ribswhich enter the kerf or split in the timber and become embedded in thewood sufiiciently to retain the wedge in position, and thereby preventaccidental displacement of the same.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangements of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, itbeing understood that various changes in form, proportion, and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from theprinciple or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure l is a perspective view of a edge constructed in accordance withmy invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same, andFig. 3 is a similar view.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the rawings.

The wedge 5, which may be formed of metal or other suitable material, isprovided with a flat head 6, the sides of Which are beveledor rounded,as indicated at 7, to thereby prevent said head from expanding and thecorners or edges thereof being broken when struck by an ax, mallet, orother tool.

The side faces of the wedge are recessed longitudinally, as shown at 8,defining oppositely-disposed parallel ribs or flanges 9, which enter thekerf or split in the timber and embed themselves in the woodsufiiciently to retain the wedge in position and prevent the same frombeing accidentally displaced when driving said wedge.

The ribs or flanges 9 preferably extend the entire length of the wedgeand gradually diminish in thickness from a point adjacent the head 6 tothe point or entering edge 10, that portion of the wedge between theconcaved side faces 11 of the ribs being substantially flat, as shown,so as to present a smooth plane surface to the wood, and thereby preventthe wedge from twisting.

The ribs or flanges 9 serve to guide andretain the wedge within the kerfor split in the timber, while the concave or rounded side faces of saidribs serve to strength en the latter and prevent injury to the hands inhandling the wedge.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. A wedgehaving recessed side faces defining oppositely-disposed parallelretainingribs, said ribs gradually diminishing in thickness from a pointadjacent the head of the wedge to the entering edge thereof.

2. A wedge provided with a fiat head and having its opposite side facesrecessed to form parallel retainingribs, the corners of the wedgeadjacent to the head being beveled or rounded.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I-have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT A. EICH.

Witnesses ANDREW ZEIs, SIMON Gannon.

